The House
A correspondence, not a search bar.
Élevé was founded in 2011 by Alma Vermeer-Torsten, an architect whose first commissions were all above the twelfth floor. The first penthouse in the catalogue, a full-floor apartment above the old port of Antiparos, was held for three years before it was ever introduced to anyone. That patience became the method.
“We don’t list penthouses. We keep a correspondence with them, and occasionally introduce them to the right reader.”
Alma Vermeer-Torsten · Principal
Method
A penthouse enters the catalogue only after it has been experienced at dawn, at dusk, and in winter light, walked by our architect, and held for at least twelve months. We present nothing we would not stand in ourselves.
Practice
Three offices, one house. Viewings are always in person, always above the city, always unrushed. Every letter receives a personal reply, by name, within two working days.
Geneva · Lisbon · New York
By appointment · Since 2011